Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.92.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FCX shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,170.7% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 521 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth $25,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCX traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.86. The company had a trading volume of 7,888,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,731,457. The stock has a market cap of $55.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $55.24. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.33.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 7.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. This is a boost from Freeport-McMoRan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio is 21.90%.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.